Tuesday, July 31, 2012

If you follow mainstream election coverage, you might think Mitt Romney has coasted to an honest, easy, well-deserved Republican nomination. Unfortunately for Republican voters, nothing could be further from the truth. The primary process has been an all-out slugfest and many of the delegates Romney has won may be the result of dirty tricks and even election fraud. The following narrative includes links to reports, first-hand testimonials, and video evidence highlighting actions taken by the GOP to ensure a Romney victory, at the expense of fracturing the party just prior to the general election. Party leaders at the county and state level have changed or violated party rules, cancelled caucuses, changed vote counts, thrown out entire counties of votes, counted public votes privately, called-in the SWAT team, and inexplicably replaced Paul delegates with Romney delegates to block Ron Paul from winning the nomination.

The recent deluge of attacks against the second amendment were completely predictable in the aftermath of the Colorado massacre, but what perhaps wasn’t so expected was the fact that a lot of them have come from so-called Republicans.

If you’d been following the news from California following Tuesday’s Anaheim riots spurred by a protest of a nonexistent police force continuum that lead to two fatal shootings of suspects in the Southern California city, chances are you haven’t been getting much accurate information on the current state of Anaheim since the riots.

The riots were eventually quelled, and a mother of one of the men shot to death by police called for an end to the violence. Peaceful protests around the city’s police headquarters proceeded, but when a picket line along Harbor Blvd got too close to Disneyland, something unprecedented and unnerving happened: a paramilitary police force, stripped of names and badge numbers, wearing urban-camouflage utilities, and outfitted with a combat load and assault rifles, emerged to blockade the world-famous theme park.

News sources like the L.A. Times simply report that riot police formed the blockade, but that’s incredibly misleading, and the reports say nothing about the paramilitary forces patrolling the city streets of Anaheim itself en masse.

It's extremely painful when government collapses and can't pay its bills or its workers. But public spending on steroids and the massive accumulation of mountains of debt to sustain the unsustainable is a stone cold reality.

The crisis in Spanish regional governments continues to escalate. El Pais reports Catalona Will Not Pay Hospitals or Private Centers and 100,000 workers are affected.

BAMAKO, Mali — Islamists in control of a town in northern Mali stoned a couple to death after accusing them of having children outside of marriage, a local official who was one of several hundred witnesses to the killings said Monday.

AUSTIN, Texas — Maybe it should be renamed "Chevrolet Volt-ville." The largest concentration of Chevrolet Volts in the country will play a key role in helping Texas residents in a 700-acre planned community as they test the impact of "smart homes" and other green technology, like electronic vehicles.

GM calls it the greatest concentration of Chevrolet Volts in the world....

While Chevrolet made 100 Volts available, only 55 of the community residents took advantage of the various tax credits, including a $7,500 federal tax credit and a $7,500 rebate from Pecan Street on their Volt purchases. Those leasing a Volt for three or more years received a $3,000 rebate.

"We're gathering information from families' vehicles throughout this community to find out the direct impact the Volt has on the grid and how to get drivers the lowest possible charging rates," said Pudar. "This project will also help us develop future capabilities of the Volt and other plug-in electric vehicles."

Pecan Street is funded by a $10.4 million grant from the Energy Department and more than $14 million in matching funds from project partners. Although Pecan Street oversees the consortia, it also includes researchers from the University of Texas, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Environmental Defense Fund. It's housed in the University of Texas at Austin.

A Spanish tourist from Barcelona sitting quietly with his wife on a bench in City Hall Park yesterday was bashed in the head with a hammer by a crazed Brooklyn man. The Spanish tourist, Hugo Alejandro, suffered a fractured skull and is in stable condition.

So here I sit, the simple serf that I am waiting for Mayor Bloomberg to hit the airwaves calling for stricter controls on hammer purchases. After all, you don’t need hammers for hunting right? You can’t legislate away violence or craziness. Pound sand Bloomberg. This guy is the ultimate embodiment of why the concept of term limits exists.

Police departments around the country have been compiling databases on the travels of innocent motorists. The tracking is made possible by automated license plate reader technology (ALPR, also known as ANPR in Europe), the deployment of which is backed by funding from federal gas tax dollars appropriated without any public debate or oversight.

The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday announced a campaign to increase transparency in the way ALPR is used. The liberal activist group used its network of affiliates to blanket local, state and federal law enforcement offices with freedom of information requests designed to force disclosure of key documents that may shed light on what is currently being done with the devices.

A standalone ALPR system is essentially the same as speed camera without the radar speed sensor. A video camera records every passing vehicle while optical character recognition software reads the license plate and looks up the vehicle's owner. Instead of issuing that person a ticket, the device records the time and date his vehicle drove past and stores it in a searchable database. The systems are so similar that photo enforcement vendors already use their automated ticketing machines to perform ALPR services for municipal customers.

"As ALPRs increasingly blanket American roads and highways, they raise the prospect of pervasive and prolonged surveillance of Americans' movements, a problem exacerbated when law enforcement agencies keep data about people not suspected of wrongdoing, and when data from discrete ALPR systems is pooled together into state, regional and even national databases," ACLU staff attorney Catherine Crump wrote Monday in the group's request to the US Department of Transportation.

The Los Angeles Times, hardly a bastion of conservative orthodoxy, has a leaked copy of a congressional report on the Obama administration’s failed Fast and Furious “gun walking” operation.

Republican congressional investigators have concluded that five senior ATF officials — from the special agent-in-charge of the Phoenix field office to the top man in the bureau’s Washington headquarters — are collectively responsible for the failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation that was “marred by missteps, poor judgments and inherently reckless strategy.”

The investigators, in a final report likely to be released later this week, also unearthed new evidence that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix initially sought to hide from the Mexican government the crucial information that two Fast and Furious firearms were recovered after the brother of a Mexican state attorney general was killed there.

According to a copy of the report obtained Monday by The Times, the investigators said their findings are “the best information available as of now” about the flawed gun operation that last month led to Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. being found in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents.

Congress is finally standing up to President Barack Obama on targeted killing. Almost a year after three American citizens were killed in US drone strikes, legislators are pushing the administration to explain why it believes it's legal to kill American terror suspects overseas.

Congress is considering two measures that would compel the Obama administration to show members of Congress what Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) calls Obama's "license to kill": internal memos outlining the legal justification for killing Americans overseas without charge or trial. Legislators have been asking administration officials to release the documents for nearly a year, raising the issue multiple times in hearings and letters. But the new proposals, including one from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) first flagged by blogger Marcy Wheeler and another in a separate intelligence bill, aren't requests—they would mandate disclosure. That shift shows both Republicans and Democrats are growing impatient with the lack of transparency on targeted killings.

Very soon you will be able to go to the airport and not cower at having a Homeland Security cop rummage around your private parts or command you to be filmed for any trace association with terrorism.

Instead, according to website Gizmodo, “within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away.

“From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your body – agents will be able to get any information they want without even touching you” (“Hidden Government Scanners Will Instantly Know Everything About You From 164 Feet Away,” gizmodo.com, July 10).

No matter how fast pharmaceutical companies can churn out drugs to prevent or cure illnesses, health insurance doesn’t cover the cost of hiring a person to follow you around and remind you to take your meds. So the FDA has approved a pill that can do it on its own by monitoring your insides and relaying the information back to a healthcare provider.

The pills, made by Proteus Digital Health, have sand-particle-sized silicon chips with small amounts of magnesium and copper on them. After they’re swallowed, they generate voltage as they make contact with digestive juices. That signals a patch on the person’s skin, which then relays a message to a mobile phone given to a healthcare provider. It’s only been approved for use with placebos right now, but the company is hoping to get it approved for use with other drugs (which would be where it would get the most use).

Reading through the transcript of former Vice President Dick Cheney's interview with ABC News one thing is clear: he is not sorry about anything.

There are plenty of statements worth discussing. Judging from the media reaction, Cheney only seems to have commented that the selection of Sarah Palin in 2008 was a "mistake." This is hardly breaking news nor particularly controversial. There has been a little push-back but the general silence from movement conservatives seems to acknowledge that the Palin candidacy was a fiasco.

But what I found more interesting was Cheney's criticism of President Obama as commander-in-chief (excerpt left unedited from transcript):

"I believe that - as we go forward, there's no question in my mind but what - Mitt Romney would be much better as a commander in chief than - is Barack Obama.

"I think Obama's made some big mistakes. I look, for example, at the Middle East situation today. It's - seems to be growing increasingly chaotic. We've seen the Muslim Brotherhood elected in Egypt. We've got the ongoing conflict in Syria where thousands of people have died. Looks like the Assad regime's gonna collapse. We don't know what ultimately is gonna replace it."

It actually amuses me that Republicans think attacking Obama on foreign policy is a winning issue for them. As Jonathan Rauch tried to explain in a recent editorial for The New Republic, Obama is a devotee of "Classic Republican foreign policy." I would say Obama's term has been marked more by stealthiness than naked aggression, but the point is well-taken.

To a great extent this phenomenon is the product of Cheney's influence in the Bush 43 administration. The prudent statesmanship of Eisenhower, Nixon, and to a lesser extent Reagan and Bush 41, has been so scrubbed from Republican identity to the point that presidential leadership is reduced to the willingness to carpet-bomb the world and boast about it.

But Cheney actually says nothing of substance in this statement. He basically lists off the conditions in a few countries and calls them Obama's "mistakes."

Yes, the Muslim Brotherhood was elected in Egypt and as an American observing it, that's clearly not an appealing situation. But no sooner was the Brotherhood elected the country's military council declared the results invalid and the new Egyptian president is still having a stare-down with the army.

But Cheney's comment about Syria is perhaps the densest one of all: "We've got the ongoing conflict in Syria where thousands of people have died. Looks like the Assad regime's gonna collapse. We don't know what ultimately is gonna replace it."

What does Cheney propose Obama do about thousands of people dying in Syria? He doesn't answer but the only proposition being put forth from anyone in Washington is to arm the rebels - the one option that guarantees escalation of the violence and more deaths.

Obama hasn't given much indication that he supports regime change in Syria - perhaps until now - so by implying Obama has made a "mistake" in Syria, Cheney is saying that the problem with Syria is that the rebels aren't committing enough acts of violence.

But Cheney's very next statement provides every reason not to arm the rebels because "We don't know what ultimately is gonna replace it." For an idea of who that might be and who certain American politicians would like to arm, they may want to take a look at a title from Monday's New York Times: "As Syria Battles Go On, Jidhadists Take Bigger Role."

Cheney is back. He's smart enough to back out of a role at the Tampa convention, but with a new ticker and a renewed resolve, he's showing that he plans to keep defending a record most Republicans would rather not talk about.

By Eric Sharp:
As the 2012 Presidential Election cycle draws to a close lets take a look back to see the way forward. Back during 2008 there was a prevalent and funny meme
going around comparing John McCain, "The Maverick" to Sigma, the leader
of the Maverick robots in Megaman X, and comparing Barack Obama to Megaman X, the Maverick Hunter.

VS

According to the metaphor, the Mega Man X
plotline followed and Sigma was defeated. But to what end? To continue
this metaphor we will need to flash forward to the future in the Megaman Zero timeline.

"Copy" X

In
this timeline Zero, Megaman X's friend and partner, awakens from a long
slumber to find that Neo Arcadia is ruled by a tyrant - a tyrant named X, his former partner.
X has been trying to eradicate other robots because of "energy
shortages", passing draconian measures and even eliminating "terrorists"
via the Four Guardians that enforce X's commands. Zero encounters the
last band of resisters and takes up their cause of overthrowing X and
his regime.

But
it is revealed the X is in fact a copy of the original with none of the
same thoughts and experiences, this Copy X is in fact an imposter
created to replace X when he sacrificed himself in the Elf Wars.This Copy X is as completely different in character to the original X as the Candidate Obama is to President Obama. Conversely
the spirit form of the Original X, humble, unassuming, and adverse to
violence, represents Obama and the Progressive's genuine and
intense desires to end the undeclared foreign wars, to stop the rising
debt, to end the drug war, adhere to the Bill of Rights, and many other
things sold down the river and largely forgotten when Copy X /
Post-Election Obama assumed control. Obama has become Bush in the same
sense that Copy X became the Sigma that X destroyed.

Dr. Weil, the central villain, represents not a figure but the ideas
that remain the same from President to President, Congress to Congress,
that creep into the brains of those holding office. In the
story Weil manipulated Copy X as his puppet. This fits all the more
because in the MMZ plot line Dr. Weil essentially can't die, he
was equipped with rapid DNA restructuring for a court delivered
punishment of living forever in exile. Consequently the ideas of
executive authority seem to perist on in every spectrum of time past
and present. We can hope that the future does not hold such
dark promise.

Zero and the Resistance on the
otherhand represents, not just Ron Paul in a narrow electoral metaphor,
but symbolize the newly reinvigorated Liberty Movement- the only real
alternative to the Bush/Obama/Romney war and debt slavery machine.
After all it's not Left vs Right, it's the State vs you.

Zero is really one of the only characters who struggles not for his own gain, but simply to discover what his place in the world is and to defend those who are unjustly under attack.

He doesn't seek power and control like Weil. He isn't trying to prove that he is something that he is not, like Copy X. He doesn't have the lofty political ambitions of Elipszo. Zero doesn't want to be a Gentle Judge that metes out the State's "Justice". Nor does he thirst to deliver punishment to his enemies like Harpuia of the Four Guardians. No, Zero doesn't want any of those things.

Neither do libertarians. Like Zero they really just want to live in peace, but when a force threatens that peace and all that they care about then they will rise to the challenge.Zero once said, "I never cared about justice, and I don't recall ever calling myself a
hero... I have always only fought for the people I believe in."

I can't help but be reminded of a certain doctor who ran for Congress because he saw a storm gathering and united a resistance movement to tear down the illegal edifices of a growing police state.

This Ron Paul, like Zero, is similarly humble despite his battles. He says,"There is a revolution going on ... and I am just lucky enough to be a part of it."

Monday, July 30, 2012

As July comes to an end let's look back and remind ourselves:
July 4th is not "Celebrate
the Government Day;" it is Independence Day -- the day to celebrate
declaring independence from the most powerful empire on the face
of the earth.

It's not national "Pretty Lights in the Sky and BBQ Day;" it is a day to recall and thirst for liberty.

Indeed, July the 4th isn't a day to revel in militaristic and star spangled ignorance; it is a day to remember and conceive new radical thoughts.

Now,
there's nothing wrong with BBQ and fireworks, but sometimes the true
message of the Independence Day can be drowned out by the national
anthem rather than amplified.

Having recently read the Hunger Games Trilogy, the way July 4th is celebrated reminds me strongly of the Reaping Festival:
So much intense nationalism, more lingo than usual about supporting
the troops, and festivals dedicated to colors, stars, and food, rather
than principles. In essence, a day that started as a day to celebrate
independence from government now is used to celebrate being a cog in a terrible machine.

In The Hunger Games,
the reaping is a glamorous festival to celebrate a lottery in which
children are drafted to fight each other to the death. The event, to be
chosen, and even to die are supposed to be tremendous patriotic honors.
But really the children and those cheering on their slaughter are tools
of the oppressive government. Let's not allow Independence Day to work
the same way.

“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” Howard Zinn

“The
notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually
idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the
rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees
it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good
citizen driven to despair.” H.L. Mencken

An NYPD detective has been suspended without pay after a kidnapping victim was found tied up in his Queens garage, sources tell NBC 4 New York.

Sources say Ondre Johnson, a 17-year veteran of the Brooklyn North gang unit, was being questioned by internal affairs about his involvement in the kidnapping of a 25-year-old victim off the street early Friday morning.

Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg on Monday continued his lead role in advancing gun control legislation in the wake of the Aurora, Colo. mass shooting by introducing a bill to ban the online sale of ammunition.

“If someone wants to purchase deadly ammunition, they should have to come face-to-face with the seller,” Lautenberg stated in his announcement. ”It’s one thing to buy a pair of shoes online, but it should take more than a click of the mouse to amass thousands of rounds of ammunition.”

“The Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act” asserts the following: ammunition will only be sold by licensed dealers; buyers who are not licensed dealers will be required to present photo identification; and licensed dealers must maintain records of ammunition sales and report to officials the sale of more than 1,000 rounds to an unlicensed person. Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York, whose husband was killed and son severely injured in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road mass shooting, has signed on to publicly support the bill.

Lautenberg’s office noted Monday that the shooter who killed 12 and injured 58 in the July 20 attack at the Colorado movie theater purchased upwards of 6,000 rounds of ammunition “anonymously on the internet.”

In another victory for those who would like to see criminals held responsible for their crimes, Sean FitzPatrick, former CEO of Anglo Irish Bank, was arrested and charged with 16 counts related to secret loans provided in an attempt to prop up the stock price.

The activity of 64-year-old FitzPatrick is quite serious indeed since, as the Associated Press points out it was “a conspiracy to hide colossal losses at the bank that brought the nation to the brink of bankruptcy.”

According to court documents, Adam “Ademo” Mueller, journalist and co-host of nationally syndicated radio talk show Free Talk Live, has been indicted on three counts of felony wiretapping. The charges are a result of a vlog Mueller posted on CopBlock.org about an incident involving alleged police misconduct, which featured recorded interviews of on-duty public officials. Mueller’s report focused on video recorded by a student’s cell phone at Manchester’s West High School, which depicted Officer Darren Murphyslamming a 17-year-old boy into a cafeteria table in October of 2011. Although public officials told the student to delete the video, it ended up in Adam Mueller’s hands instead.

The case states that after viewing the footage, Muller called the Manchester Police Department and West High School seeking comment. Muller recorded his interviews with the on-duty public officials, and then included them in a video report on CopBlock.org that publicized the allegedly excessive use of police force at the high school. The story went viral. Several months later, the indictments came: three felony counts of wiretapping.

Jim Singer, formerly a psychologist working in Pennsylvania, said that he reported a case of child molestation in 1986 to Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services agency, and not only was his report ignored, but soon after, in retaliation, the Pennsylvania Psychology Board prosecuted Singer and eventually removed his license to practice psychology.

As the aftermath of the Penn State University molestation scandal unfolds, most observers believe that if the proper authorities had been alerted to the crimes much earlier, many children could have been saved. That’s not always the case, says Singer.

Speaking exclusively with The Daily Caller, Singer said that most of the same Pennsylvania government agencies that were outraged over the PSU scandal — Child Protective Services, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police — all ignored and buried his report of child molestation.